Jalapeno Boiled Fettuccine in a Bacon Cream Sauce

February 28, 2013

I think this idea came from an old episode of Iron Chef where Bobby Flay cooks some pasta in jalapeno juice. One of my favorite things to cook with jalapeno is bacon, and it seems to be a very popular thing these days. There is even jalapeno crusted bacon in the grocery store! You would think that this dish is all bold intense flavors, but it actually came out more subtle and perfectly balanced. Boiling the pasta in jalapeno juice didn't give it a crazy spicy taste, but rather imparted the true jalapeno flavor with just a little bit of the heat that it is so well known for. This was a fairly easy dish with unique and delicious flavors that I would highly suggest anyone who has a juicer to make immediately.

Juicing the jalapenos.
There was a lot of foam on the jalapeno juice, but the actual juice was a vibrant green. I spooned off most of the foam after it settled out for about a half hour.
The juice itself would have made a delicious cocktail with some cucumber, vodka, and maybe a little apple or pineapple. I diluted this by half to cook the pasta in.
Meanwhile, my friends were busy making perler bead creations.
Some roasted cauliflower.
Drop the pasta into the cauldren of green.
A simple cream sauce completes this dish. Super tasty.
Like I said earlier, you would think this would be super bold flavors, but the end result is acutally subtle and perfectly balanced.
Fresh and very delicious.

Yesterday was my 30th birthday. It's been an insane couple of weeks, and I have some really big exciting news coming, but for now, I'm gonna take a few days off and should be back by the middle of next week.

To get 2 quarts of jalapeno juice, I juiced about 50 jalapenos with no seeds. If you want to crank up the heat on this dish, you could leave the seeds in maybe a quarter of the jalapenos, but I thought the subtle heat and jalapeno flavor balanced just perfectly with no seeds.

Jalapeno Boiled Fettuccine in a Bacon Cream Sauce

6SlicesBacon(chopped)

1Onion(sliced)

5ClovesGarlic(minced)

1PintLight Cream

1/4CupParm

1HeadCauliflower

3TablespoonsButter

Parsley

2QuartsJalapeno Juice

2QuartsWater

1PoundFettuccine

Instructions

Preheat the oven as high as it will go. Melt the butter in the microwave. Break the cauliflower to bite sized pieces and toss it in the melted butter with some salt. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for about 7 minutes until there is some nice browning and the cauliflower is perfectly tender.

Mix the jalapeno juice and water. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp and remove from pot. Drain some of the bacon fat but keep a little in the pot. Cook the onion in the bacon fat to brown lightly, scraping the bottom of the pot often to keep the buildup to a minimum and not burn anything. Add in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Toss in the cream and scrape the pot well to incorporate the browned goodness to the sauce. Add the parm. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes to thicken slightly.

Be sure to salt the boiling jalapeno juice. Drop the pasta into the jalapeno juice and let it cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Strain, reserving 1/2 cup of the jalapeno juice. Immediately mix the pasta with the cream sauce, and toss in the reserved jalapeno juice. Serve and top with the crispy bacon and some parsley